not just once, but twice

[WARNING: if you haven't seen the movie The Vow and plan to do so, don't read this. it will spoil it for you.]

i've heard mixed reviews on the vow, but i went to see it with a friend recently and overall, i liked it. that being said, i left the theater slightly frustrated by the ending. i love a good hollywood "happily ever after" ending and this one left me wanting another 10 minutes of story line. this one was a little more on the real life side of things.

but then i came across a little gem with the back story and now i'm satisfied with the ending. turns out there's more to the story than hollywood let on (imagine that!) and it satisfied my imagination. take a minute (or four) and read the story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter and how they found love not once, but twice.

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

besties and beignets

this past weekend was an absolute whirlwind in the best kind of ways. two...not one, but two of my friends came to visit! laughter was a no-brainer. honesty was effortless. and life updates were flying left and right. that tends to happen when you live in separate time zones. you play mach speed catch up. thanks for migrating south, dayna and kat!!

anna maria island for a little relaxing with dayna

arkansas softball....woo pig!!

fro yo with kat and casey in orlando

tampa beignets with my nola bestie

frolicking around town with kat behind my wheel. i'll take it!

i can't thank these two women enough for putting up with my crazy antics and walking through life with me. love you both so much!! come back now, ya hear?

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

pure and undefiled religion

y'all, isn't my friend Joy gorgeous? i tease her all the time about how photogenic she is. i've never seen a bad picture of her. no one has. i've tried. i even creeped back into facebook pics from before i knew her. nothing. it's incredible! but what i find even more gorgeous and incredible is her heart. this girl has a huge heart for the orphans and widows of Africa, particularly Uganda (where she's living right now). she has a heart that serves without ceasing. she has a heart to carry His name to the nations and proclaim the gospel to all people. she has a heart to nurture and love. no matter where i am, my prayer is that i, too, will have a gospel-driven heart like Joy.

"pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this:

to visit orphans and widows in their distress,

and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

james 1:27

"hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

proverbs 13:12

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

party for pops

image

today is a special day. the man in my life was born today. well, not today today, but today a lot of years ago. you with me?

pops has been the man in my corner since the day i was born. he fights for our family. he leads our family. he loves our family. he provides for our family. and i've never met anyone who loves famous amos chocolate chip cookies more than my dad. or tortilla chips with peanut butter mushed between them.

showing his support before a match

my dad is a special man and means the world to me. i'm super excited to see him on saturday when i fly home for the weekend. let the celebrating begin!! love you dad and happy birthday!!!!

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

where my heart is (part two)

as promised, there will be lots of pictures on today's post. yesterday, i filled you in on my time at kamp. today is all about my day with the Boone girls and two other special friends.

it all started sunday night when i showed up at casa de Boones and surprised LB, the youngest Boone. shrieking, dancing, jumping, screaming, and all out celebrating took place. cue mushy feelings of knowing how loved and missed i am. next up came surprising Linds (middle Boone). cue spider monkey hug that almost resulted in a football tackle. and last but not least, Mal. homegirl got in late from a wedding and i'm pretty sure thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. SURPRISE!!!! loved it. :)

[for the record, they thought the surprise they were getting was a dog. or some type of electronic awesomeness.]


we basically sat around the kitchen table and in the living room all night gabbing it up like old times. i can't tell you how many nights (and mornings) were spent in that kitchen talking life with Jane and the girls. it felt like i never left. great feeling.

hang time with LB and Linds.

i think i'm loved.

with Mal once she got home.

moving on to monday...the girls and i hit up vista tees for some quality branson tank tops and then headed to springfield. i did lunch with my good friend April and then snagged Andy's with Jenny and little Brody. such a treat. i've missed those women so much!!

after lunch with April. love you so much!!

lunch was delish. can we do that every day?

with Jenny at Andy's. where else would we meet?!

(and yes, my hair is warping because of the extreme heat.)

then, naturally, the girls and i filled our window of time with some shopping at the mall. we found some great deals on jewelry, grabbed cookies and pretzels, and then made the dreaded drive to the airport. boo. i thought about stalling and missing my flight (so did they). it's always hard to say goodbye to the Boone girls. they're like sisters. in fact, the last words i heard before walking through the doors to the airport were, "love you sis!" to which i replied, "love you too!"

ugh. i hate leaving them. we laugh instead of breathing whenever we're together. and we talk life. i love being able to be an influence in their lives. and i pray that it continues to be a positive one.

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

where my heart is (part one)

love my Shay Shay.

it's no secret that i love kanakuk and all things in the k-world. i struggle to put into words how huge an impact it has had in my life, especially the past five years. i wouldn't own my faith and convictions the way i do. i wouldn't have such a solid core of men and women surrounding me to challenge and encourage me regularly. i wouldn't have such a strong desire to serve and disciple others. the k-world has changed me forever. and i'm better because of it.

i love surprises. especially when they involve people and unexpected visits.

that being said, i snuck out to missouri this past weekend to visit my kanakuk family at their various kamps. it was almost impossible to contain my excitement building up to this trip. i cracked a few times and posted vague tweets about being so excited i could hardly stand it. so, when friday night hit, i made myself go into social media hiding. no tweets. no facebook. i was so close and i didn't want to let the secret out. i was also afraid someone would somehow be able to see my location and know that i was tweeting/facebooking from MO instead of FL. it's possible, i just don't know how. somewhat creepy, i might add.

my time at kamp this weekend was absolutely perfect in every way. i was able to see every single person i wanted to see and get great quality conversations with each of them. that might not sound like much, but in the kamp world of chaos and too many things going on at once, it's quite the accomplishment. i firmly believe that the Lord was orchestrating each conversation's timing. i'm still not sure how i was able to get all those conversations squeezed in, so thanks Lord for making it seem effortless.

i walked away from my 30 hours at kamp with a full heart. it was refreshing to be able to be myself. here in tampa, i'm still meeting new people and getting to know the ones i've met, so i'm still in that "hello, my name is..." phase of not quite being fully able to let my guard down and be real with folks. i dislike this phase of new relationships, but there's no way to avoid it. thus, it was beyond wonderful to be back with people who truly know me and allow me to be real. my conversations were brutally honest, encouraging, uplifting, sharpening, completely ridiculous, filled with laughter and even a few tears. not by me, though i did feel my heart rip out a few times.

[if we're being really honest, i had a few pep talks with myself about how blessed i am to be in tampa and how i know this is the right place for me now despite my strong desire to still be in missouri.]

tomorrow's post will have lots of pics as i recap my day in branson/springfield with the Boone girls and my springfield buddies. seriously, i am one blessed girl. i miss my missouri fam like it's my job and i'm so grateful for those friendships and the fact that they are strong enough to withstand 1,000 miles of separation and still be just as strong.

stay tuned for recap part two tomorrow...

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

getting hitched

well folks, the bestie is getting hitched. and i. am. pumped! 2010 was full of fabulous weddings, but 2011 has been a bit of a wedding hiatus. my bank account thanks me, but i really do love weddings. luckily, i'm hitting the ground running again in 2012. obviously i have nothing to do with the timing of it all, but i'm thrilled!!

it looks like i'll be headed to NOLA in the spring. i love that city. i know it gets a bad rap (and rightfully so at times), but there's a lot of great things that happen down in the bayou too. i mean, how can you go wrong with beignets?? and my best friend is from NOLA. her love for that city is just plain contagious.

seriously though, kat has been a huge blessing in my life since the moment we met, which, contrary to popular belief, was not at the Institute. we were actually in the same K2 work week cabin. we just hardly saw each other because she was a photographer that summer and i was a counselor. and we worked separate terms. slight dilemma. but once we discovered we'd both be at the Tute the following fall, we started praying to be roommates. nothing wrong with a few shameless prayers thrown up, right? :)

our friendship was in for a crazy ride once we got to the Tute and we spent the bulk of our days together for 8 months. this girl knows me so well and consistently challenges the heck out of me. she listens to my ridiculous rants and puts me in my place. or she just flat out laughs at me, which also does the trick. i love kat so so much and hope that one day we'll be in the same city again. i'll throw up a few more selfish prayers in the meantime, don't you worry.

all that to say, i'm honored to be part of her life and i can't wait to see what the Lord does through her and Brad. they will take the world by storm. love love love them. congrats on your engagement and one rockin' marriage in the making. love you two!!

Kat & Brad in NOLA before Brad popped the question.

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

my pops

"Father, make of me a crisis man. bring those I contact to decision. let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.” -jim elliot

my father is one of those men. he exudes the power and grace of God in his life each day. he forces you to make a choice after meeting him. are you willing to continue living selfishly in sin, or are you going to choose to walk in grace as he has chosen? he speaks the Truth boldly and in love. he is a man of integrity. in fact, i think of him every time i hear the word.

dad is passionate. devoted. and he loves a good corny joke. you know, the kind that make you roll your eyes as a super cool peer-conscious teenager but make you guffaw with laughter once you outgrow the "cool" phase. he is loving, affectionate, and hands on. dad loves a good hug. he's also famous for asking the old "guess what" question and following it with an "i love you." that's my dad.

i'm incredibly blessed to have a man like my dad leading our family. he has set the bar high and continues to remain faithful to the Lord above all else. really, i could go on for days about my pops. he's just that awesome. 

here's a fun tidbit: his love language is cars. not necessarily buying them, but more in the sense of making sure our family's cars are well oiled, waxed, pristinely clean, and in tip top shape. i realized this long ago and decided that any time i could, i would give him the chance to show his love by working on my car. why deny him an opportunity? ;)

so, without further ado, here's a glimpse of just how awesome my pops is. i have been, and always will be, a daddy's girl. happy father's day dad!

throwback: picking apples at Mimi and Papa's house (one of my all-time fave pics of the two of us)

helping out at dad's annual Sports Outreach golf tourney

snow pics a few years ago

hiking Pisgah (our favorite) after church

enjoying the white christmas of 2010

celebrating a very rainy UNC graduation day

Carolina Football...and i'm still sweaty from practice. sick!

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

the deuce

well, i have to admit, i feel weird. like i'm forgetting something. it took me a few days to figure it out, but i finally did...kanakuk. for the first time since 2006, i'm not in lampe, mo spending my days at k2 (aka "the deuce") in nike tempos, t-shirts, one-piece swimsuits, crazy costumes, and chacos. and it feels weird.


don't get me wrong, i love florida. life here is just what i needed. this is right. but that doesn't mean i don't miss what i'm so used to having. being anywhere but table rock lake in june is just wrong. or so it feels. if i had more allotted vacation days, i'd be back at k2 this summer for a little visit and awesomeness. but i don't, so here i sit in florida, missing the opening days of kamp. wah.


kanakuk has played such a huge role in my life over the past 5 years. huge. i've been stretched in ways i never would have imagined, and i've seen the Lord do some amazing work in the lives of kids and staff. God is good. and i'm blessed to say i was part of what God does through kanakuk. but, the time to cut the ties has come and now i'm forced to move on tough as it may be. 


so, in honor of my kamp nostalgia, here are a few pics of what i could be wearing right now if i were at k2. love me some lampe, mo. kanakuk forever has my loyalty and love. and someday it will have my kids.

neon day and ziplining in tutus with ash.

tanya and me posing as the next kiowa and kickapoo princi.

mexican party with Nat.

with delaney for some kickapoo competition.

pirate party with shay shay.

 
western party with my first-ever cabin. komo 13.

k-wild rappelling with sarah.

nancy, story, and sally with their prized liquid gold (aka bottled non-kamp water).

i love and miss me some kanakuk k2 in the summertime. be awesome, love jesus.

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

love her

right this very second, i wish i could transport myself to Lampe, MO and give this kiddo a hug. i also wish i could somehow fenagle my way into being her counselor. she's a stud and a half. love her. hope you're loving K2 LB!!

LB and her K2 counselors that i envy

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

my favorite

after spending almost two weeks with my sister (12 days), i'm further convinced that she's my favorite person on the planet. she just gets me and it's effortless to be around her. no stress. no pressure. no expectations. we can just be. and enjoy. and laugh. and live. and love.


i'm going to start persuading now, but i think she should move to Tampa once she graduates from ECU and come do life with me down here. she's always loved the beach more than me anyway. it's only right for her to come down here for more than a visit. (ahem...)


that being said, her visit was fabulous. she came down a few days before the cruise and stayed an extra night afterwards and it was much needed sister time. again, she's my favorite person on the planet. here are just a few reasons why. (mom, please don't cry.)

1. when i left her a fun list of organizational projects to keep her occupied while i was at work, she was excited.
2. she organized my earring tree just like i would have. exactly. as in, our brains think identically.
3. she always makes me laugh....generally after testing my patience, but she always gets me to laugh about it
4. she organized my DVDs in alphabetical order. SHE. IS. THE. BOMB.
5. she loves havarti and crackers as much (if not more) than i do
6. homegirl loves a good movie night on the couch with comfy pillows
7. she lets me steal the covers in the middle of the night and remembers to tell me what i said in my sleep the next morning
8. she will serve your socks off. no questions asked. every single time. i used to abuse this quality in her. now i try to emulate it.
9. she appreciates the simple pleasures in life. no need for expensive things. with her, the simpler the better. i couldn't agree more.

i love you sis and i wish you never had to leave Tampa again. come visit soon. hint hint.

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

battle

"wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." -psalm 27:14

"the righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. the LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." -psalm 34:17-18

"the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." -james 5:16b

"in the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. and He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." -romans 8:26-27

* * * * * *

this is just a quick post to ask each of you reading this to take 2 minutes and stop to pray for two very dear friends of mine, Brad and Jenny, who are fighting an uphill battle right now. they are in the process of adopting a precious little boy named Brody, but his birth father's family has decided to fight for custody. Brody's birth mom wants Brad and Jenny to have him because she knows it's best for him, but his dad has recently come forward and wants to fight for custody.


Brad and Jenny adore this little boy and i want so badly for them to keep him forever. God has been faithful in providing for them throughout this entire adoption process and His timing is perfect. it's not ours, but it's perfect. He has a plan for this little boy and for Brad and Jenny. and He wants all the glory no matter what the outcome. i just pray it's for them to be a unified family very soon.


please please please join me in praying for them.

• pray for the birth father to have a change of heart towards Brad and Jenny
• pray that he would see the Lord in Brad and Jenny
• pray for Brad and Jenny to be strengthened by the Lord and encouraged by His sovereign control each day
• pray for the birth mother to remain strong in her conviction to give Brody to Brad and Jenny
• pray for the birth mother to be encouraged and see the Lord's hand at work
• pray for the Lord's favor over the paperwork and technicalities that Brad and Jenny will be battling as they fight for their son
• pray for the authorities that are handling this case, that they might have wisdom and discernment to know what's best

here are some pics of this precious family. please please keep them in your prayers.

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

it came!!

so, for those of you who have been praying, THANK YOU!! my stuff arrived yesterday morning and we (i say that loosely) got it all unloaded and into the house. i have the world's greatest dad. he worked himself like a dog helping the movers get my stuff into the house while i was at work. and he weighed every single piece that came off the truck so we'd have an accurate weight. (turns out my stuff was 1,608 pounds and not 3,280 like they originally quoted.)


pops is the best. not only did he make two drives to FL in back to back weekends, but this is also the week of his Sports Outreach golf tournament. he's swamped, but he made it a priority to be here and help me. again, my dad is the world's best. if you're reading this, i love you dad and really appreciate how helpful you've been through the whole moving process.


now to unpack and get everything settled into its new home. pictures to come once that happens, but don't hold your breath on that.


bekah


live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

die-anne-uh

that's my momma's name. phonetically that is. Diana. if you don't know her, you should. she's pretty awesome. she'd say the emphasis is on the pretty. ;)


i absolutely fail at expressing my gratitude and love to mom often enough. she's a fantastic woman of the Word and will serve her socks off for you. i hope i have a piece of that in me. 


i love you mom, and i'm so grateful for another year to honor your role in my life. thanks for putting up with my shenanigans and getting excited over the little things in life with me. can't wait for you to come down and visit me again in the sunshine!!

happy mother's day!

(mother's day 2010)

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

what i miss

so, even though i'm quickly falling in like with Tampa, i still have moments of crazily missing the quirky little town of Branson and everything it represents to me. enjoy the picture journey of just a few of the reasons i find my mind wandering back to the Ozarks. i loved my phase of life in Btown and i can't wait to go back and visit.

working alongside Traci was never boring or mundane. she's going to kill me for putting this picture up, but it's totally worth it.

visits from Chief in my office. he's a troublemaker, but he's a cutie and a keeper!!

speaking of cuties, i loved when Mathias came for visits. he's a Tar Heel in the making!!

cheesy photo ops that were completely normal. abnormally large rocking chair? of course we need a pic!

playing and working alongside April and her team. both an honor and a joy. LOVE LOVE LOVE her!!

Branson High School Volleyball. the reason i stuck around Btown in the first place. conversations with these three on the bench mid-match are forever etched in my memory.

doing daily life with these two was a privilege. talk about two godly young women who passionately pursue the Lord. they truly get it more than i ever did in high school! not to mention, i don't think i've ever laughed that hard and that consistently in my entire life. what's not to love?? 

never a dull moment when you spend your weekends with crazy 15 year olds like these two knuckleheads. 

these nine girls gave me a glimpse into motherhood. i would do absolutely anything for them and i don't think it's possible to be any more proud of who they are as individuals and how hard they worked to become better volleyball players. i gave them my heart and they stole it. i'm not asking to get it back any time soon.

Trish and Shay are two phenomenal friends. i have never felt so unconditionally loved in my entire life than by these two incredible women. i adore them.

* * * * 

if i was a crier, now would be the time where i tell you that i need to go grab the kleenex and take a moment before i continue. but i'm not, which shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you. but i am sitting here in my new home in tampa with a heart that's absolutely bursting with love and joy and memories coupled with a deep ache to see each one of these people right now. obviously that's not possible unless one of you knows how to master the art of teleportation.


i'm glad i like Tampa so much already, or else i think i might be overwhelmed by feelings of homesickness or loneliness or the desire to pack up and move back. thankfully, that's not the case, but i do long for the return of my fabulous Bransonites into my daily life. and when i say "Bransonites," i'm including my loves in Ozark, Springfield, etc. so, who's up for a beach trip?? seriously.


much love to my Bransonites. you have captured my heart forever.


bekah


live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

a thousand words

well, since pictures are worth a thousand words and i'm low on time these days, i figured a photo blog to recap my easter weekend in chapel hill would be a fabulous option. the wedding was beautiful. dave owens knows how to throw a party. time with teammates was priceless and hysterically awesome. nothing less than expected honestly. time with sis was a double bonus (and the boyfriend of course). hers, not mine. don't go starting rumors. gallavanting around chapel hill and hitting all my old faves was triple bonus. enjoy the pics to recap!

fun pic with Dayna before heading on to the airport.

Carolina Volleyball past and present with Coach.

Alan was waaaay too nice on this.

gorgeous bride and teammates.

typical.

 

another shot with Coach before leaving.

sis and the boyfriend.

 had to swing by FSPP for lunch. yum!!!!

walking down Stadium to the game.

game time vs. Miami

baseball at Bosh. please note Christie in the background.

YoPo after the game. delish!!

look who flew back from Finland....VON!!!

it's true, i love LP.

4 years with these two was not enough. ram it!!

Easter Sunday sis pic.

they're quite the pair.

chapel hill: you are too good to me. i'll be back to visit soon. i just can't say no.


bekah


live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.